Full collapsible panicproof door



Filed Feb. 6, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l June 20, 1933.

FULL GOLLAPSIBLE PANICPROOF DOOR M mm. A W g A. 5

. X 1 my I m w 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 20, 1933. B. H. UHRICH FULLCOLLAPSIBLE PANICPROOF DOOR Filed Feb. 6, 1932 June 20,1933. 5, H u c1,915,172

FULL COLLAPSIBLE PANICPROOF DOO R Filed, Feb. 6, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR Q WITNESSES flmvzsZWznc/z Way?! BY MV.

fi fk ATTORNEY Patented June 1933 omen STATES PATENT oFFIcE BURNS H. UHRICH, OI INDEPENDENCE KANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ATGHISON REVOLV- ING D00300., 0F INDEPENDENCE, KANSAS, A CORPORATION QF.DELAWABE rum. conmsmmPANICPBOOF DOOR This invention has general reference to revolving doors,and relates more particularly to those of the type wherein the severalwings of the door are so mounted with reference to the central supportas to permit of their movement from a normal radial relation to acollapsed parallel relation extending from one side of the centralsupport. v

The present invention comprehends an 1mproved means for connecting thewings to and supporting the same from the spindle of the centralsupport, by virtue of which means a more effective and stable support isafforded" in all positions of the wings a more rigid and lastingconnection is estabhshed and movement of the wings to a fullycollapsed-or to and from a semi-collapsed condition is faciliin theirradial position and for admitting of J collapsing of the same underabnormal or excessive pressure in event of a panic, and this withoutresorting to the use of cable looks or braces which extend betweenadjacent wings.

The invention further embodies a wing looking or retaining means whichmaybe readily manipulated to reduce the tension and thereby facilitatethe operation of unfolding the door when fully collapsed or folding orunfolding the mags to semi-collapse the door.

The invention further resides in the provision of a roller bearingwithin the lower end of the central spindle, with which hearing thelower center pivot cooperates to reduce friction, minimize wear andavoid undesirable side play in the door.

Other objects of themvention reside in an improved wing mounting andlocking means for revolving doors of the indicated character J whichmaterially reduces and simplifies the number of parts, thereby makingfor economy in the production, assembly and installation of the doorwhile increasing the efiiciency of the same.

With the above recited and other objectsfull collapsible panic proof-bodiment of the invention, while the claims E of the door enclosure.

bearing B at this point functions to reduce in view, reference is had tothe following description and accompanying drawings, in which there isexhibited one example or emdefine the actual scope of the same.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional plan view through a revolving doorconstructed in. accordance with the invention and illustrating in fulland broken lines the semicollapsed and radial positions of the wings.

Figure 2 is a similar view on an enlarged scale illustrating thedoorwings in fully collapsed condition.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view with one wing in sectionillustrating the wings in their normal radial positions.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the com plete installation.

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the wing detent keepers.

Referring to the drawings 'by characters of reference, A designates thecentral vertical spindle or shaft which is suspended in the usual mannerfor rotation from an overhead support and which is provided in thepresent instance with an internal roller bearing B of in a'centeringkeeper D provided in the floor The use of a roller friction and minimizewear, thereby avoiding undesirable side play in the door while lnsuringsmooth operation and longer wear of the air lock strips. I

While it is to be understood at the outset that the door may include anynumber of wings, the conventional and usual four-wing type of door isillustrated, and the wings are eachdesignated by the reference characterThe 0011',-

'F. The inner edges of the wings are dis 1 frontin faces of the disks10, that is, the upper ace of the lower disk and the lower face of theupper disk are respectively provided with a concentric annular groove orequivalent guideway 11 and radial intersecting grooves or guideways 12,which latter grooves or guideways in the present instance are ofslightly greater depth than the annular grooves 11. The upper and loweredges of the inner margins of the wings F which are disposed between thedisks or elements- 10 are provided respectively with a pair of inner andouter shoes 13 and 14, the former being swivelly connected by a screw 15which is threadedly anchored to the escutcheon plate 16 secured to eachwing and embracing the upper and lower edges thereof. The outer shoe 14is swiveledor journaled on a depending reduced trunnion 17 formed aspart of a shank 18 which is positioned in an upstanding boss 19 on theweb 20 of the escutcheon plate. The shank 18 is maintained against axialmovement to hold the trunnion within the shoe 14 by means of a screw 21.In order to facilitate upward displacement of the shank and itstrunnion, the said shank is provided with vertically spaced annulargrooves 22, and one of the side walls of the escutcheon plate is formedwith an aperture or slot 23 for the introduction of a tool therethroughto engage successively with the grooves after the retaining screw 21 hasbeen retracted. The shoe 13 is of the same width and depth as the radialgroove or guideway 12 and is preferably elongated to insure its positiveretention within the groove or guideway and to afford ample bearingsurfaces to coact with the walls of the groove or guideway. The outershoe 14 is elongated and of curved or arcuate formation conforming tothe curvature of the annular groove 11. By virtue of this arrangement,it is apparent that each wing is mounted or supported and guided forrela tive swinging movement with reference to the central support orspindle A, whereby it may be swung throughout an arc of approximately270, thus permitting movement of all wings to what is known as a fullycollapsed position, as illlustrated in Figure 2, wherein all of the doorwings are in approximately parallel relation to each other andprojecting from one side of the central support, and this collapsedposition may be ac- Cal complished irrespective of the angle at whichthe door is disposed in its enclosure. It will also be seen that the twoshoes cooperate to limit the swinging movement of the doors whilepreventing their complete displacement from between the disks orelements 10.

The removal of the wings, however, may be accomplished by firstretracting the shanks 18 of the u per and lower shoes, as previouslyspeciti ed, and then exerting a radial outward pull on the wings untilthe inner shoes 13 are displaced from the radial slots or guideways 12.This is an important feature,'in that it greatly facilitates thedisconnection of the wings from the center support for the purpose ofeffecting repairs or replacement of worn or broken parts.

In order to provide means for releasably retaining the wings in a normalradial position where they will be released for collapsing under, anexcessive or unusual pressure applied to opposite wings, such as occursin the case of a panic, the web 20 of each escutcheon plate at a pointadjacent the outer periphery of the element or disk 10 is formed with anaperture 25 within which a bushing 26 is arranged. The bushing has arestricted lower diameter 27 and receives a detent 28 which ispreferably spherical or ball shaped and with which the restricted lowerdiameter of the bushing cooperates to prevent its complete downwardprojection therethrough. A heavy leaf spring 29 is housed by eachescutcheon plate 16 and has its outer extremity anchored as at 30 to theescutcheon plate with its inner free end bearing against the ball ordetent 28 to normally urge said ball or detent beyond the lower or uppersurface of the web and against the surface of the disk or element 10. Inorder to control the pressure exerted by the leaf springs, a cam oreccentric 31 is fulcrumed on a horizontal axis 32 extending transverselyof the door wing and escutcheon plate so that upon turning of said camor eccentric 31, the periphery 33 thereof will exert different degreesof pressure upon the leaf springs. The axis or shaft 32 of each cam oreccentric protrudes through one side of the escutcheon plate and theprotruding portion has connected thereto a radial lever or arm 34 byvirtue of which turning of the cam or eccentric may be accomplished. Inthe present instance, the lever or arm 34 is so positioned withreference to the cam 01' eccentric that when the same is swung to anoutermost position, the high point and greatest, pressure on the springare exerted. In order to lock the arm or lever in this position, theside of the escutcheon plate is formed with a keeper 35 to receive adetent pin 36 which snaps into the keeper. The confronting faces of thedisks or elements 10 are provided in alignment with each radial grooveor guideway 12 with a detent keeper 38 for receiving the ball or detent28 of the wing. Preferably, as illustrated, the keepers 38 are in thenature of sleeves which are set' into bores 39 formed in the disks orelements 10.

Ordinarily, when the door is in use, the cams or eccentrics 31 aredisposed in the position illustrated in full lines in Figure 4 wherebythey exert the greatest pressure on the springs 29, this pressure beingsutlicient to insure the retention of the wings in radial position underthe ordinary pressure exerted thereagainst in revolving the door. It is,however,-evident that in event of a panic, when an unusual pressure isexerted on the door wings, the balls or detents will be cammed out ofthe detent keepers 38, thus releasing the wings for relative swingingmovement with reference to the center support or spindle A and the disksor elements 10. After being so swung, the return movement of the wingsto normal position may be facilitated by releasing the detent pins 36and turning the arms 34 inwardly to lessen the tension on the springs.This may also be done when it is desired to swing the wings to or fromthe semi-collapsed position illustrated in full lines in Figure 1 of thedrawings.

From the foregoing, it will thus beseen that an improved door wingmounting and retaining means for full collapsible panic proof doors hasbeen devised which embodies but few and simple parts capable ofeconomical production and assemblage, and while there has beenillustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it isto be understood that no limitation is intended to the precisestructural details herein exhibited, but that variations andmodifications thereof which fall within the scope of the appended claimsmay be resorted to when desired.

What is claimed is: 1. In a revolving door including a rotary I centralsupport and a plurality of wings, a pair of shoes swiveled to the upperand lower edges of each wing upon separate vertical axes and elementssecured to the central support adjacent the upper and lower ends thereofand each having annular concentric and radial guides with which theinner and outer shoes respectively cooperate to connect the wings withthe central support and to guide the same for relative swinging movementwith respect to said support.

2. In a revolving door including a rotar central support and a pluralityof wings, a pair of shoes swiveled at the upper and lower edge of eachwing on separate vertical axes spaced at relatively different distancesfrom the inner edge of the wing and elements secured to the centralsupport above and below the upper edges of the wing, each element havingan annular concentric guide and radially intersecting guides with whichthe outer and inner shoes respectively cooperate to connect the wingswith the central support and to guide the same for swinging move -'mentwith respect thereto.

3. In a revolving door including a rotary 60 central support and aplurality of wings, a pair of shoes swiveled at the upperand lower edgeof each wing on separate vertical axes spaced at relatively differentdistances from the inner edge of the wing and elements se- 65 cured tothe central support above and below the upper edges of the wing, eachelement having an annular concentric guide and radially intersectingguides with which the outer and inner shoes respectively cooperate toconnect the wings with the central support and to guide the same forswinging movement with respect thereto and coacting means within eachdoor win and on said elements for maintainin the wings in radialposition.

4. In a revo ving door includin a rotary centralsupport and a pluralityo wings, a pair of shoes swiveled at the upper and lower edge of eachwing on separate vertical axes spaced at relatively different distancesfrom the inner edge of the wing and elements secured to the centralsupport above and below the upper edges of the wing, each element havingan annular concentric guide and radially intersecting guides with whichthe outer and innershoes respectively cooperate to connect the wingswith the central support and to guide the same for swinging movementwith respect thereto and coacting means within each door wing and onsaid elements for maintaining the wings in radial position coincidingwith the radial guides.

5. In a revolving door, a rotary central support including a verticalspindle and upper and lower disks secured to the spindle to turntherewith, the confronting faces of said disks each having an annularconcentric groove and intersecting radial grooves, a plurality of doorwings corresponding in number to the radial grooves and having theirin-' ner edges disposed between said disks, a pair of shoes swiveled onvertical axes to the up- 7 per and lower edges of each wing, the shoesof each pair being slidable respectively in the annular and radialgrooves to guide and limit the wings in their swinging movement withreference to the central support.

6. In a revolving door, a rotary central support including a verticalspindle and upper and lower disks secured to the spindle to turntherewith, the confronting faces of said disks each having an annularconcentric groove and intersecting radial grooves, a plurality of doorwings corresponding in number to the radial grooves and having theirinner edges disposed between said disks, a pair of shoes swiveled onvertical axes to the up h per and lower edges of each wing, the shoes ofeach pair being slidable respectively in the annular and radial groovesto guide and limit the wings in their swinging movement with referenceto the central support and coacting means within each door wing andprovided on each disk at a point coincident with the radial grooves forretaining the wings in radial position.

7. In a revolving door, a rotary central support including a verticalspindle and upper and lower disks secured to the spindle to turntherewith, the confronting faces of said disks each having an annularconcentric groove and intersecting radial grooves, a plurality of doorwings corresponding in number to .the radial grooves and having theirinner edges disposed between said disks, a pair of shoes swiveled onvertlcal axes to the upper and lower edges of each wing, the shoes ofeach pair being slidable respectively in the annular and radial groovesto guide and limit the wings in theirswinging movement with reference tothe central support and coacting means within each door wing andprovided on each disk at a point coincident with the radial grooves forretaining the win gs-in radial position and for tensioning the sameagainst movement with reference to the central support.

8. In a revolving door, a rotary central support including a verticalspindle and upper and lower disks secured to the spindle to turntherewith, the confronting faces of said disks each having an annularconcentric groove and intersecting radial grooves, a

of door wings corresponding in plurality the radial grooves and havingnumber to their inner edges disposed between said disks,

a pair of shoes swiveled on vertical axes to the upper and lower edgesof'each wing, the

shoes ofeach pair being slidable respectively in the annular and radialgrooves to guide and limit the wings in their swinging movement withreference to the central support, coacting means within each door wingand provided on each disk at a point coincident with the radial groovesfor retaining the wings in radial position and for tensioning the sameagainst movement with reference to the central support and means forvarying the tension of said means to facilitate the folding andunfolding of said wing.

9. In a revolving door, a rotary central support including a verticalspindle and a disk secured thereto adjacent the upper and lower endsthereof, the upper face of the lower disk and the lower face of theupper disk each having a concentric annular groove and a plwality ofintersecting radial grooves, a door wing for each radial groove havingits inner edgedisposed between the disks, an arcuate shoe swiveled tothe upper and lower edge of each door and movable in the annular grooveand a second straight shoe swiveled to the upper and lower edge of eachdoor and movable in a radial groove.

10. In a revolving door, a rotary central support including a verticalspindle and a disk secured thereto adjacent the upper and lower endsthereof, the upper face of the lower disk and'the lower face of theupper disk each having a concentric annular groove and a plurality ofintersecting radial grooves of greater depth than the annular groove, a

door wing for each radial groove having its inner edge disposed betweenthe disks, an arcuate shoe swiveled to the upper and lower edge of eachdoor and movable in theannular groove and a second straight shoeswiveled to the upper and lower edge of each door and movable in aradialgroove.

ll. In a revolving door, a rotary central support including a-verticalspindle and a disk secured thereto adjacent the upper and lower endsthereof, the upper face of the lower disk and the lower face of theupper disk each having a concentric annular groove and a plurality ofintersecting radial grooves of greater depth than the annular groove, adoor wing for each radial groove having its inner edge disposed betweenthe disks, an arcuate shoe swiveled to the upper and lower edge of eachdoor and movable in' the annular groove and a second straight shoeswiveled to the upper and lower edge of each door at a point disposedinwardlv with respect'to the arcuate shoe and slidable in a radialgroove.

12. A door wing mounting for full collapsible panic proof revolvingdoors including elements secured to the central rotary spindle betweenwhich the inner edges of the door wings are disposed and interengagingmeans on the upper and lower edges of the wings and the confrontingfaces of said elements for cooperatively guiding the inner edges of thedoor wings radially and the door wings circumferentially with respect tothe spindle. I

13. A door wing mounting for full collapsible panic proof revolvingdoors including elements secured in vertically spaced relation to thecentral rotary spindle between which the inner edges of the door wingsare disposed and interengaging means on the upper and lower edges of thewings and the confronting faces of said elements for cooperativelyguiding the door wings simultaneously at different points radially andcircumferentially with respect to the spindle.

14. A door wing mounting for full collapsible panic proof revolvingdoors including elements secured to the central rotary spindle betweenwhich the inner edges of the doors are disposed and interenga 'ing meanson the upper and lower edges of the wings and said elements forcooperatively guiding the door simultaneously at different pointsradially and circumferentially with respect to the spindle, said meanscomprising intersecting concentric annular and radial guideways on saidelements and swivel shoes on said wings slidable in said guideways.

15. A door wing mounting for full collapsible panic proof revolvingdoors including elements secured to the central rotary spindle betweenwhich the inner edges of the doors are disposed and'interengaging meanson the upper and lower edges of the wings and said elements forcooperatively guiding the door simultaneously at different pointsradially and circumferentially with respect to the spindle, said meanscomprising intercoincident with the radia ways on said elements andswivel shoes on said wings slidable in said guideways and meansreleasable under a predetermined excessive pressure for holding thewings radial coincident with the radial guidewa s.

16. A door wing mounting for ll collapsible panic proof revolving doorsincludin elements secured to the central rotary spmdle between which theinner edges of the doors are disposed and interengaging means on theupper and lower edges of the wings and said elements for cooperativelyguiding the door simultaneously at different points radially andcircumferentially with respect to the spindle, said means comprisingintersecting concentric annular and radial guideways on said wingsslidable in said guideways and means releasable under a predeterminedexcessive pressure for holdin' the wings radial latter means comprisingkeepers coinciding with the radial guideways and tensione detents urgedinto engagement with the keepers.

17. A door wing mounting for fullcollapsible panic proofrevolving doorsincludin elements secured to the central rotary spindle between whichthe inner edges of the doors are disposed and interengaging means on theupper and lower edges of the wings and said elements for cooperativelyguiding the door simultaneously at different points radially andcircumferentially with respect to the spindle, said means comprisingintersecting concentric annular and radial guideways on said elementsand swivel shoes on said wings slidable in said guideways and meansreleasable under a pre etermined excessive pressure for holding thewings radial coincident with the radial guideways, said latter meanscomprising keepers coinciding with the radial guideways and tensioneddetents urged into engagement with the keepers and means for reducingthe tension upon said detents to facilitate folding and unfolding of thedoor wings. 18. In a revolving door including a central supportsuspended for rotation, an annu- 1211' series of roller bearings withinthe lower end of said central support and an axially pro'ectible andretractible pivot located wit in and cooperating with, said annularseries of roller bearings.

' BURNS H. UHRICH.

said elements and swivel shoes on.

guideways, said

